StereoactiveNYC

Show Preview: Bel Air + Mama Bear + Holy Moly at Fort Useless // This Saturday + photos

We’ve had a good run of shows lately over at Fort Useless. And we’ve got another one this Saturday we’re excited for:

Holy Moly will get the night started at 8:30pm. They play conuntry/folk-rock tunes that rely on extremely well-crafted songwriting and have become sort of a de-facto house band for the venue.

Next up at 9:30pm (after a slight schedule change — they were originally going to be on at 10:30pm) will be Bel Air. They play nicely twangy pop songs and occasional ballads with an interesting dynamic going on between Allison Langerak’s and Jeff Mensch’s alternating vocals. We featured a review of their most recent release, Into The Sea, back in February and are really looking forward to hosting them for the first time at Fort Useless.

Rounding out the night at 10:30pm is Mama Bear, making their second appearance at Fort Useless. The band consistently impresses us with their fun, bouncy live shows and ain’t too bad in the studio either — we reviewed their recently released EP, How We Go, last month.

You can RSVP for the show on Facebook here.

Also, because we’ve been so busy with various projects, we’ve had less time to devote to editing and posting photos, but we have some shots taken of Bel Air and Mama Bear in recent months:

Mama Bear at their EP release part at The Studio At Webster Hall (more on Flickr):

And Bel Air at Mercury Lounge (more on Flickr):

And here are mp3s from each artist:

mp3: “What You Get” by Holy Moly

mp3: “Into The Sea” by Bel Air

mp3: “Old Man Trouble” by Mama Bear

Tags: bel air, fort useless, holy moly, mama bear, stereoactivenyc presents

Tonight at Fort Useless: The Art Of Shooting Video Premiere, Listening Party, + Acoustic Show

We’re obviously big fans of The Art Of Shooting. Just check out the review of their new album that was featured on the site recently. Or the countless other posts we’ve done about them over the last few years. So, when we were asked to host a video premiere party for one of the songs off the new album that would double as a listening party and triple (is that an acceptable use of the word?) as an acoustic show, we were excited to help to be a part of it.

Please join us as we listen to the band’s excellent album, Traveling Show, and watch the new video for “Japanese.” The band will also play a few songs live, as will friends of the band: Quilty and Caitlin Cannon Eddins. Here are the details:

Friday, May 7th
at Fort Useless

36 Ditmars Street
Brooklyn, NY

8:00pm – DOORS

8:30pm – VIDEO

9:00pm – Caitlin Cannon Eddins

9:30pm – listening to the CD in full

10:30pm – Quilty

11pm – VIDEO AGAIN, followed immediately by The Art Of Shooting

RSVP on Facebook

And here are a couple of mp3s from the album:

mp3: “The Birdcage” by The Art Of Shooting

mp3: “It Goes (Home)” by The Art Of Shooting

Tags: caitlin cannon eddins, fort useless, quilty, stereoactivenyc presents, the art of shooting, traveling show

Photos: Shark? + The Whisperians + The Golden Kittens at Fort Useless

(Shark?)

We curated a show at Fort Useless on Friday night that ended up being just as much fun as we hoped it would be — if not more so. Shark? is definitely a young band on the rise in the city right now, playing slews of shows and putting out self-released and/or free EPs and singles seemingly every time they put pick to guitar and stick to drum. Kevin Diamond — lead singer and songwriter for the band — is apparently something of a dynamo, able to turn out high-quality pop gems encased in fuzz and crunch like most people brew coffee in the morning.

(Shark? + dancing)

(The Whisperians)

Chris Brunelle is another excellent songwriter who knows his way around a well-crafted pop song. With the Whisperians, he continues to build an oeuvre of 2-3 minute pearls of prowess that will surely stick in your head for days after hearing them.

(The Golden Kittens)

Even down a man, The Golden Kittens managed to bring their usual energetic zeal for building anthemic punk-pop ballads out of stabbing chords and pounded drums. They always put on a fun show that somehow manages a unique tone of boastful self-deprecation that gets the audience going.

Editor’s Note: above photos by Bryan Bruchman

Tags: fort useless, shark?, stereoactivenyc presents, the golden kittens, the whisperians

Photos: The Jaguar Club at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

The Jaguar Club played perhaps the best set we’ve heard from them yet at our CMJ showcase. Above and below are photos from the show (with more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey, the jaguar club

Photos: Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Shilpa Ray And Her Happy Hookers played a ferocious set at our CMJ showcase that pretty much blew everyone watching away. The photos above and below are from their set (with more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, shilpa ray and her happy hookers, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Photos: Locket at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Locket took to the stage on Saturday night at the Delancey to play what we consider the best set we’ve heard from them yet — that it was at our CMJ showcase made it all the more enjoyable. The photos above and below are from their set (and also available on Flickr).

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, locket, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Photos: Mama Bear & The Power Bottumz at the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase

Mama Bear got things off to a great start on Saturday night at our official CMJ showcase at the Delancey. Their energetic, spirited set of twang-tinged rock got the sizable group of early show-goers moving with ease. Above and below are photos from the show (with a few more available on Flickr):

• More photos from the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase are HERE
• More photos from CMJ 2009 are HERE

Tags: cmj 2009, mama bear, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey

Kittens Ablaze // StereoactiveNYC CMJ Showcase Preview

Kittens Ablaze are five musicians that equal one giant ball of energy and enthusiasm. Every time we’ve seen them live, we’ve wondered about how much coffee they must consume to put on their raucous brand of slightly-folk-inspired, slightly-punk-inspired rock. We think they’re a little bit like goldfish in that they grow to the size of the space they’re in — except they don’t stop growing as they hit the glass of their bowl, they just keep expanding and bust through it. So watch out for flying glass and water…

They’re playing the StereoactiveNYC Official CMJ Showcase at the Delancey on Saturday at 1am. Here’s an mp3 for your preview enjoyment:

mp3: “This Machine Is Dying” by Kittens Ablaze

And here’s what CMJ says:

“Punk-rock songwriting with alt-country instrumentation and pop sensibilities.”

rsvp on facebook

Tags: cmj 2009, kittens ablaze, stereoactivenyc presents, the delancey